3 Sheriff Department canines trained for Percocets, oxycodone

DARTMOUTH — Billy, Axel and Bono, a trio of German shepherds with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department, are going to be busy.

CURT BROWN

DARTMOUTH — Billy, Axel and Bono, a trio of German shepherds with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department, are going to be busy.

The dogs recently completed 11 weeks of training in narcotics detection after being trained in search, tracking and apprehension. They are now able to detect marijuana, cocaine, heroin, Percocet and oxycodone, according to Sgt. Paul Douglas, the canine trainer with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department.

But what's unique about Billy, Axel and Bono is that they are the Sheriff Department's first dogs trained to recognize Percocet and oxycodone, according to Col. Robert Sylvia, administrator of the department's canine units.

He said the training in Percocet and oxycodone is all part of the Sheriff Department's effort to stay current with the most popular drugs on the streets.

"They change and we have to adapt with the times," Sylvia said.

Billy, Axel and Bono will be used for a variety of tasks because of their dual skills as search-and-rescue and narcotics-detection dogs, Douglas said.

They will be used for drug searches in schools and at the Bristol County House of Correction as well as work with the South Coast Anti-Crime Team, a drug task force of local police and the Sheriff's Department, he said.

They will also be available to assist smaller police departments that do not have canine units, Sylvia said.

The dogs are "imprinted" with the odor of the particular drugs during their training and exhibit "an aggressive alert" by scratching and biting when they detect them, he said.

Sylvia said they have the ability to find drugs in hidden compartments, vehicles, homes, boats and lockers.

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said many local departments can't afford to have a dog and designate a handler.

"We need them for the prisons and we're ready, willing and able to help local communities," he said. "They're so valuable for our police departments through our county."

The Sheriff's Department has two other German shepherd search dogs.

Arko is trained as a search and narcotics-detection dog but his training includes heroin, cocaine, marijuana, Ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine, not Percocet or oxycodone.

Ryker eventually will be trained in narcotics detection but is currently used only for patrol purposes.

The Sheriff's Department received its sixth dog — Ronnie, a Belgian Malinois — on Monday; the dog will begin the 16-week police service academy, according to Sylvia. Ronnie will learn to be a patrol dog, work for a year and then be sent for narcotics training, he said..